Greek Life At Ohio State Shaken After Fraternity Suspensions

After allegations of hazing and drug use, Sigma Alpha Epsilon was suspended amid investigations by Ohio State. It's been allowed to resume some activities recently.

Clare Roth
/ WOSU

After Ohio State suspended all male fraternities in November for alarming allegations of student conduct violations, several have since been granted permission to resume their activities. But the suspensions have cast a long shadow over sorority and fraternity recruitment week.

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In November, Ohio State announced it indefinitely suspended 37 social fraternities on campus from all social, recruitment and new member activities after a record high number of alcohol and hazing incidents. The suspension only affected all-male chapters of the Interfraternity Council, not the sororities of the Panhellenic Association or service-oriented organizations in the Multicultural Greek Council.

Fraternities were required to submit action plans to Ohio State outlining risk management procedures, new membership education processes, anti-hazing guidelines and scheduled social events before they would be permitted to recruit new members.

Allegations Of Hazing

One of the 11 fraternities that had been under investigation before the mass suspension is Sigma Alpha Epsilon. An email from an individual—claiming to be the mother of one of SAE’s new members—sparked Ohio State’s probe of the chapter.

The email, obtained by WOSU through public records requests, alleged that SAE pledges were pressured to skip class, consume excessive amounts of alcohol and withstand physical abuse.

And one fraternity, Tau Kappa Epsilon, was suspended by Ohio State for three years—after which it will face an additional year of probation.

IFC did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.

A Damper On Activities

Amid rush period in the Greek system, Ohio State students say the investigations have affected their decision to join a fraternity and even which fraternities they might consider joining.

Alex Jakabcic, a freshman currently in the fraternity rush process, said he has followed news of the fraternity suspensions and probations. He said he won’t visit houses that have been accused of hazing new members.

“The [fraternities] that haven’t been approved for social events are the ones I wasn’t going to consider looking at,” he said. “There’s a reason [they haven’t been approved].”

Credit Clare Roth / WOSU

But the fraternity suspensions have also affected rush activities for sororities, as well, even though no sororities were suspended. Many students seek joining Greek life for social events, and the crackdown from Ohio State will make those less common.

At Ohio State, the number of women who registered for sorority recruitment has risen steadily since 2009. But that changed this year year: Over 150 fewer women have registered in comparison to last year.

The university's new Greek life regulations are similar to ones made by Penn State and Florida State Universities following deaths of students involved in fraternities.

Penn State shortened the length of time recruits can be considered pledges and has also limited the number of events fraternities can have with alcohol present. Florida State indefinitely suspended all of Greek life after the death of a fraternity pledge.

Hazing has been part of the fabric of college life for centuries. Yet, year after year, incidents emerge where young people take these acts too far, sometimes to deadly results. Today, we examine the outlook of hazing on college campuses and their Greek life communities.

A grand jury tasked with investigating broad issues of hazing at Penn State has issued a blistering report asserting that leaders at the university were well aware of pervasive misbehavior in the Greek system and failed to take action.

Penn State, responding in court, said that the university has "shown an unwavering commitment to promoting safety and accountability" and that alcohol abuse at college is a "national problem," not a university-specific one.

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